Like many lovers of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I have begun to feel a bit of dissatisfaction and lack of confidence in the franchise due to its continuous release of subpar movies. I carried this lack of faith with me when I decided to spend my Valentine’s Day evening seeing the new Captain America movie Last Valentine’s Day, I made the mistake of seeing “Madame Web” like so many others, so after suffering through whatever that was, I didn’t think Captain America could be any worse. I’m happy to report that it wasn’t, despite negative reviews.
“Captain America: Brave New World” is the first Captain America movie following Sam Wilson, formerly known as Falcon and played by Anthony Mackie, as he takes on the shield and becomes the new Captain America. The audience first saw the new Captain America onscreen in the Disney+ series “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier,” but this marks the first time Sam leads the story alone. This film takes place after the events of the series, in a world where the Avengers are no longer active and where Captain America has a “cooperative” relationship with President Thaddeus Ross, played by Harrison Ford.
From what I have seen about this movie from other sources, people are generally unimpressed. The Associated Press goes far as to say that the movie “treads water.” The negative reception of this film is understandable, however, I believe this is due to the fact that many people are viewing the film through a very ‘this isn’t as good as the other Marvel movies’ lens.
If you were to go see this movie without caring about its connection to the MCU, you would likely enjoy it. Aside from the really bad uses of green screens and questionable dialogue that consists of a lot of forced jokes, the film is pretty entertaining, and I would argue, a solid superhero movie. Personally, I would like to applaud the obvious work Anthony Mackie put into perfecting his shield stunts.
The disappointment with this film lies in the fact that it isn’t a strong addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the Captain America legacy. It doesn’t measure up to the previous Captain America films and lacks the excitement and wonder that audiences felt when watching them. What Marvel needed to do with this movie was slow down.
I’ve often heard complaints about films like “Iron Man” and “Captain America: First Avenger” being too slow and that “nothing really happens.” Those arguments are fair and understandable, but after watching this film, I realized that those movies are necessary starting points to create a strong collection of films as a foundation for the Marvel Universe.
“Captain America: Brave New World” needed to be a slow movie. Having a new Captain America is a big thing. The fact that he is also a Black man and is closer to the ordinary man because he chose not to take the supersoldier serum that is significant, yet the film only briefly mentioned and acknowledged these factors. These things need to be explored further in this film before jumping into the excitement and conflict — which should be saved for the sequel film.
This film could’ve been so much better if the creators had opted to make it slow, and even boring, just this once. Show us Sam Wilson struggling, training and learning how to use his shield. The reason Marvel fans love these characters so deeply is because we ‘know’ them. We needed time to get to know Sam Wilson as Captain America before we saw him in action.
It is incredibly disappointing that this film wasn’t as good as it should have been and that it now has a reputation for being part of the “downfall of Marvel.” In 2025, the world got its first Black Captain America. That is huge! Audiences should be celebrating, but instead, their focus has been on critiquing every little thing about this movie.
It is completely okay to dislike a film and be upset by its quality, but if you go see “Captain America: Brave New World,” I ask that you don’t forget how important it is that Anthony Mackie is the one holding that shield. Put aside your distaste for the fact that Harrison Ford becomes a big, ugly red Hulk thing and remember that this film is about so much more than that.
